


The Hypothetical Birthday Conundrum

by hogwartsahoy



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Fluff, In which Albus and Karl are both adorable idiots, M/M, basically a big ball of fluff, sixth year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25895029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hogwartsahoy/pseuds/hogwartsahoy
Summary: Karl has finally got the courage to ask his best friend, Albus Potter, on a date. Little does he know, Albus is planning to do the exact same thing.
Relationships: Karl Jenkins/Albus Severus Potter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	The Hypothetical Birthday Conundrum

**Author's Note:**

> Karlbus! I haven't written anything based on a ship in a while, but very randomly tonight I thought about Karlbus and suddenly wanted to write for them, so I scribbled some stuff down on paper, and then ended up with this 2.4k one shot! Anyway, I love it and it was cute to write, so enjoy!

When Karl decides that he’s finally going to bite the bullet and ask Albus Potter out, he’s entirely unaware of the fact that Albus is planning on asking him out at the exact same time.

It’d mid December, snow blanketing Hogsmeade as the group of sixth year Hogwarts students wander towards the small village for their last trip before they all break up for Christmas. They’re celebrating Albus’ birthday early, too, as well as simply spending their last free day together before the beginning of the Christmas break. Yann and Polly walk at the front of the group, holding hands and chatting quietly together. Scorpius and Craig walk in the middle,in the midst of a conversation that has Scorpius making _very_ chaotic hand gestures that Albus, who is walking behind them with Karl, cannot figure out for the life of him.

Karl notices, too.

“How is it that Scorpius is quiet and loud at the exact same time?” He asks.

Albus snorts. “I don’t know. I think he has a loud mind. That might have something to do with it. I’m just glad that, in our many years of friendship, he never passed that,” Albus gestures with his hands in an attempt to copy his friend, “onto me.”

“No, you’re much more reserved,” Karl hums, which earns him a small smirk from Albus, who shoves an elbow his way. Karl dodges it with a cheeky grin and then tugs his coat closer around himself as a gust of wind passes by.

He’s nervous. He won’t admit it, but he’s nervous as anything. Asking someone out is quite the big deal, of course, but asking out Albus Potter? It’s the _biggest_ deal. Not because he’s a Potter. No, Karl has never cared _too_ much about that (obviously it’s factored into his thoughts, but as he’s gotten older he’s realised it’s _Albus_ he cares about, not the _Potter_ part of him, however prevalent that part may or may not be). But it’s a big deal just because Karl has never liked someone on this level before.

Albus, on the other hand, feels confident. Or, he feels confident for about twelve seconds on the walk to Hogsmeade until he looks over at Karl, who looks over at the exact same time and _smiles at him,_ and then butterflies erupt in his stomach and he thinks he might actually be sick because of the sudden nerves. He’s never liked someone as much as he likes Karl before. Not in that way. For a little moment, he’d thought about Scorpius that way, but then Karl had come waltzing into his life and Albus was done for.

He fears that he may truly be done for after the end of today.

Karl looks over at him again. “Are you looking forward to your birthday?”

Albus screws up his nose. “Do I ever?”

Christmas was one thing, and Albus’ birthday was another thing. He would, at least, be seventeen this year, finally becoming an adult in the eyes of the wizarding world. The bad thing was he still had a whole year and a half of school to go, which meant he wasn’t free just yet. Though the more he thought about it, the more Albus wasn’t sure if he _wanted_ to be free of school just yet. For a while there, things had been dark, but they’d brightened up again when Karl had become tolerable. When he’d become friends with Polly, Craig, Karl and Yann last year. That’s when school had, for the first time, been something Albus truly looked forward to. And, at least when he was at school he didn’t have to think about the future too in depth. Sure, the teachers were already forcing the students to think about their post school careers, but Albus didn’t feel as much pressure now as he expected he’d feel in a years time.

“It’ll be better this year, though, won’t it?” Karl offers, a slight tinge of worry clear in his tone. “Because you’ll have some of us there to celebrate it with you!”

Albus shrugs, but smiles nonetheless at the thought. “I suppose.”

It had been Karl’s idea in the first place, to hold a party for Albus when school had broken up for the holidays. Especially considering it was Albus’ 17th birthday. He’d ended up asking James about it, who had spoken to Albus’ grandmother, Molly, who had wholeheartedly offered The Burrow as a place for said party. They were to have a dinner on the evening of the 20th with the whole family, and a selected few friends, and had hired a tent in the garden for the rest of the evening so that the “younger ones” (Molly’s words) would be able to enjoy themselves without getting cold in the garden _or_ disrupting the adults in the house.

Most of the group are attending, apart from Polly and Yann who, regretfully, had already scheduled a trip with their families to France for Christmas before the party had been planned. They’re both more than devastated to be missing the party, which is why they suggested the idea of a final Hogsmeade trip before they went.

At this point, Karl definitely seems more excited than Albus. Though Karl supposes he has good reason to be. Hopefully by the party – by the end of the day _today,_ even – Karl would be able to call Albus his boyfriend. And they’d be able to spend the whole party dancing and hugging and _kissing_ and just being together.

If Albus says no, however… Karl doesn’t want to think about it.

Polly and Yann turn around to face the group as they reach Hogsmeade.

“What are we doing first? Three Broomsticks for lunch, or shops?” Polly asks.

Albus stays quiet as the rest of them debate their choices, eventually landing on shopping first, and then meeting up again to get a late lunch at The Three Broomsticks before heading back to Hogwarts for their final feast of the year. Yann and Polly head straight towards the small clothing boutique in Hogsmeade, Scorpius turns and asks if anyone fancies Honeydukes before going off on his own, Craig decides upon doing some last minute Christmas shopping at Scrivenshaft’s Quill Shop, and soon enough Albus and Karl are left alone.

“Which shop do you fancy?” Karl spins in a circle and takes the shops in.

“Um…” Albus looks around, unsure. “Oh – I need to go into Spintwitches at some point. James saw something in there that he liked the last time he and dad came to visit, and I’ve been meaning to buy it for him for Christmas for ages. Where do you need to go?”

“Well, I was thinking that Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop sounds fun.”

Albus scrunches up his nose. “But everyone goes there on cheesy dates.”

Karl chokes out a laugh. “Yes, yeah – they do. You’re right.” He’s panicking a little. Albus’ reaction to him even _suggesting_ Madam Puddifoot’s, whether as a joke or not, didn’t seem particularly positive. “Yeah, maybe Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, actually. The Shrieking Shack is always good fun to look at in the snow, too.”

“Okay,” Albus nods. “Wizard Wheezes, and then Spintwitches and then we can go by the Shrieking Shack before we meet up with the others?”

Karl nods and then heads off towards Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Albus trails on behind him, a little slower but not so slow that it raises questions. Was Karl… okay? Albus furrows his eyebrows. He’d never seen him react like that. Albus was well aware that he was a practical joker, but suggesting they go to Madam Puddifoot’s entirely seriously, and then brushing it off like he never said it in the first place? Did he know what Albus was planning on asking him at some point today, whenever he found the right time? He couldn’t know, though. Right? There was no possible way he could know… Albus hadn’t even told anyone he was planning on asking Karl out. Not even Scorpius.

He shoves his pockets in the hands of his green jumper and silently follows Karl inside the store. Karl looks around at everything with childish wonder on his face, and Albus spends the whole time watching him with a smile on his own face. All the while, Albus wonders how on earth he’s going to ask Karl, as if he hadn’t been up half the night before thinking of possible scenarios.

Karl wonders, as he picks up a box of Ton-Tongue Toffee, if he should just ask Albus now. And then a staff member comes over and asks if they need help, and the moment breaks.

When they leave, Karl has a small bag full of things for Christmas – or really, things he’s just bought for himself under the premise of ‘Christmas gifts to myself’. He tries not to let his mind wander too much when he and Albus head into Spintwitches and Albus locates the present for James. Tries not to worry about the fact that his time is running out. He doesn’t want to ask Albus out in front of all of their friends. He wants it to be something between just the two of them.

“Got everything you needed?” Albus asks as they leave Spintwitches.

Karl nods. “I think so. I need to buy _you_ a birthday present, but I obviously can’t buy that for you when you’re with me. I’ve got several ideas. You’re quite easy to buy for.”

“You don’t have–”

“Albus, please shut up.”

Albus’ cheeks darken a little, and then he laughs in a way that makes Karl want to stop right there in the middle of the road, drop his bag from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes and kiss the living daylights out of him.

He doesn’t, though. He composes himself, laughs a little himself and then looks up at the sky just as a tiny bit of sun peeks through the clouds. Karl points up at it. “Would you look at that? The sun is out, on your hypothetical birthday!”

“My hypothetical birthday?” Albus raises his eyebrows.

“Yes, your hypothetical birthday. Because we’re still celebrating today.”

“Oh, right – Yann and Polly.”

Karl hums in agreement as they reach the Shrieking Shack.

He looks at it and realises he’s a complete and utter idiot in bringing Albus to this place instead of taking him somewhere more romantic. He’s literally scraping the bottom of the barrel, since absolutely nothing about the Shrieking Shack is romantic in any way, shape or form. He cringes and shakes his head, totally unaware that Albus is standing beside him, trying to hype himself up to ask Karl out _finally._

Albus stares out at the Shrieking Shack, words running through his mind, unsure of which ones to pick to get the point across. _Karl, I like you. Do you want to go on a date with me after Christmas?_ No… too straightforward. _I kind of like you as more than a friend. If you want, we should go on a date sometime._ No, too nonchalant…

He glances at Karl in the hope that seeing him helps.

And it does.

With a deep breath, Albus focuses his eyes on the Shrieking Shack and begins to speak. He can feel Karl’s eyes on him as he talks, but he ignores them surprisingly easily.

“Right, then,” he starts, “I am probably about to make the biggest mistake of my life, and I have made many, _many_ mistakes, which you know about, but hey, I’m just about to ruin my life, how much could that hurt?” Albus laughs a little at that. “Anyway, the thing is… I kind of really like you, Karl. And I’d like to go on a date with you one day, if you don’t hate my guts after this admission and want to stop being friends immediately, of course. Totally up to you.”

His hands are clenched in fists at his sides, and he’s shaking a little as he waits for Karl to reply. Too much time passes in silence, and he finally risks a glance at Karl to see him staring, eyes wide, directly at Albus.

“What?” Albus tries gently.

Karl shakes his head, and then laughs softly. “Are you kidding?”

“I’m afraid not.” He pauses. “Sorry.”

“No, no–” Karl rushes to stop him before he gets his hopes down.

Is this really happening? Had Karl heard Albus’s words wrong? He’d just asked him out. Albus Potter had just asked _him_ out. The fact that Karl has spent the whole day trying to do the exact thing in reverse is mildly hilarious to him.

He fumbles for the right words. “Yes – a date – I would like to go on a date.”

Albus’ eyes fill with shock. “You – wait, you _would_?”

“Of course I would!” Karl exclaims. “You know, the funny thing is… I was going to ask you the exact same thing today. That was my plan. To take you somewhere romantic and just ask you out… that’s why–”

“You suggested Madam Puddifoot’s.”

Karl gives a short laugh. “Yep. Thank God you shut that down.”

“Why?”

“Because I would have felt weird doing this there.”

Albus opens his mouth to ask “ _Doing what_?” when Karl leans in and kisses him. He’d dropped his bag from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes at some point so that he could cup his face as he kisses him, and Albus instantly knows why Karl was glad that they weren’t at Madam Puddifoot’s sharing their first kiss. Because them being here, now, meant that this moment was entirely theirs. Shared by them and only them, and not seen by every other customer in the tea shop. This moment was their moment.

Karl pulls away from the kiss with a smile on his face.

“Sorry,” he shrugs. “I’ve wanted to do that all day.”

When they reached The Three Broomsticks to meet the others, everyone else was already waiting for them. It didn’t go unnoticed that they were holding hands. Nor did the smiles on their faces go unnoticed. Polly let out a shriek louder than anything either of the boys had ever heard before and Yann had asked about twenty questions in the space of thirty seconds about _how_ and _when were you going to tell us_ and _obviously, we all knew you liked each other but we never thought you’d act on it._

It’s still early days, and both of the boys know it, but this is happiness on a level Albus had dodged for his entire life, and finally he’s letting himself truly feel it.


End file.
